Verical Baffles

Hello, I'm wondering if someone has some experience with hanging vertical baffles. I have a friend who's building a restaurant and is hoping to control some of the chatter/conversation noise in the building. The structure has that "industrial" look with an open ceiling. Because of a spinkler system, he doesn't wanted to have to stub those down through any kind of acoustic drop ceiling. He wants to hang art on the walls, so we're loosing real estate to hang sound panels... So he's considering doing vertical baffles. Has anyone made or purchased baffles that hang vertical from the ceiling? Also, if I could talk him into giving up some wall space for some 2" 705 fabric covered panels, what percentage of the walls would need to be covered to control chatter/conversation noise? thank yoU! andrew

Andrew - that's a good idea. check out this control room and note the ceiling hangers. http://johnlsayers.com/Studio/Pages/Somewhere.htm They are insulation wrapped around soft fiberboard. YOu could add a layer of cloth to give it a nice look. BTW - I too am pissed at the modern LOUD restaurants where you can't have an intimate conversation without the sound of plates and the kitchen getting in the way. cheers john